Is Methylfolate the Solution for Postpartum?

Author’s Note:  I get it ~ I’m not a doctor.  I mainly write about travel, but am also passionately interested in health & wellness.  I like to get as much education in this arena as possible.  And when I come across information that I think can help MANY people: I want to share it.  The great thing about podcasts & blogs, is that it has democratized information.  It gives the average person access to advice from top health experts around the globe.  Advice that you can then take to your own doctor, to make better & more informed decisions about your own health.

So by all means: share everything written here with your doctor.  Discuss it with friends who are in a similar stage of life.  Get informed.  Read studies on the connection between the MTHFR gene mutation & postpartum depression.  Do your own research!  Never trust just one source for your health information.

Methylfolate & Postpartum

I listened to a rather life-changing interview the other day, that produced several “A-ha!” moments while listening.  On “The Skinny Confidential” podcast, they interviewed human biologist & health expert Gary Brecka.  His overarching theory is this: that many of our most common ailments are in fact rooted in key nutrient deficiencies.  With particular respect to pregnancy, he says that women are often taking too much of the WRONG thing (folic acid), & not enough of the RIGHT thing (methylfolate) ~ which can cause major mood & hormonal issues, particularly for women who have the MTHFR gene mutation.  Here, we’ll discuss if methylfolate is a solution for postpartum symptoms, in addition to many other challenges that women face as their hormones change.

 
Is Methylfolate the Solution for Postpartum? Girl Who Travels the World

When becoming a mother, many nutrients are being routed to the baby, which can cause severe nutrient deficiencies in the mother. But common pre-natal vitamins don’t always offer the best ingredients.

 

What is Folic Acid vs. Methylfolate?

Brecka has a great way of describing the difference between these two compounds.  Folic acid, he says, is like crude oil, which is pumped out of the ground ~ but that can’t be used as gasoline, because your car won’t recognize it. 

 

The crude oil needs to be refined first, THEN turned into gasoline, which your car can then use. 

 

Methylfolate, in this analogy, is like gasoline: it’s immediately recognized by the body, & can be used for energy, methylation, detoxification, & all the many things it’s responsible for.  People who have the MTHFR gene mutation CAN’T turn folic acid into methylfolate ~ so folic acid is essentially useless to them. 

 

About 40% of the population has the MTHFR mutation (I am one), & about 60% of the Latino population has it.  So it’s ESSENTIAL, in particular, that these people supplement with a methylated multi-vitamin

 

Brecka’s favorite is also mine: Pure Encapsulations Methlyated Multi without Iron.  It has all the most bioavailable forms of Vitamin B, along with a host of other essential nutrients.

Pure Methylated Multi

So What Does This Have to Do with Postpartum?

Brecka’s research suggests that women who suffer most from postpartum tend to be women with the MTHFR genetic mutation.  Why?  Because their doctors typically put them on a common pre-natal vitamin, that’s full of high doses of folic acid.  Which they assume will help them.  For women with this mutation though, it does the exact opposite.  At best it’s useless (like putting crude oil into your car).  At worst: it can be quite toxic. 

I remember my own doctor, after looking at my genetic test results (which indicate that I have the MTHFR mutation in one gene), told me to avoid folic acid like the PLAGUE.  Brecka agrees with this.  But it can be hard to do: because it’s in almost every kind of processed food you can imagine: almost all breads, cereal, crackers, most grains, pastas…you name it.  They often say these foods are “Fortified With” folic acid and/or riboflavin. 

Which are both man-made, synthetic compounds: found nowhere in nature.

If you avoid processed foods, & stick with a more whole food diet: you’ll be well on your way to getting folic acid out of your diet. 

And LOOK at your supplements!!!  This is why I’ve never bought “cheaper” vitamins: they’re often filled with toxic crap that does not actually help us. 

So back to the postpartum discussion: let’s say that you have the MTHFR genetic mutation, & are currently on a typical pre-natal vitamin with folic acid.  Brecka advises switching to either a methylated multi-vitamin, or a methylated pre-natal vitamin. 

Even people who do not have this gene mutation will benefit from a methylated vitamin, he says.

His favorite methylated pre-natal: Thorne’s Pre-Natal Multivitamin.  

 

“The Skinny Confidential” Podcast

To hear this information for yourself, take a listen to Gary Brecka on “The Skinny Confidential” podcast.  He discusses the methylfolate/postpartum connection right at the beginning of the show, for about the first 20 minutes.  Later, he discusses issues like how to support the thyroid, & why women have so much trouble losing weight as they enter middle age: ALL valuable topics! 

I highly recommend checking out the whole interview.

 

Key Quotes from Brecka:

“You want to see postpartum rates go down to single digits?  Stop giving [pregnant women] folic acid, & start giving them methylfolate.” 

 

“What happens when you give women with the MTHFR gene mutation folic acid?  Their methylfolate level stays deficient.  They can’t convert folic acid into methylfolate.  So then what happens?  [Because Vitamin B levels are also related to mood & energy], these women start to feel anxious, which happens during the pregnancy.  [They get] increasing levels of anxiety, & then full-blown depression.” 

 

“100% if you are pregnant: you should be taking a methylated pre-natal vitamin.”

 

– Gary Brecka

Thorne Pre-Natal

Side-by-Side Comparison:

Folic Acid vs. Methyfolate

Folic Acid

  • The synthetic version of folate, also known as Vitamin B9
  • Man-made compound produced in a lab
  • Not found in nature anywhere
  • Comparable to crude oil: when put into the human body, only about 1/2 the population can turn it into its usable form: methylfolate, or folate.

Methylfolate, or Folate

  • The bio-available version of Vitmain B9, that your body recognizes & can use
  • Folate is found naturally in many foods, including eggs, certain fruits & vegetables, beans & peas, walnuts, dairy, & some seafood
  • More usable & well-absorbed than folic acid
  • Comparable to gasoline: when put into the human body, everyone can use it.

Why is Folate So Important for Pregnant Women?

Many years ago, as Brecka also discusses, there was an epidemic of improper neural tube development in this country ~ an issue that can cause serious birth defects.  As Vitamin B9 plays a big role in the development of the baby’s neural tube (which forms the brain & spinal cord), doctors began prescribing folic acid to all their patients, to help prevent this. 

Why they didn’t recommend FOLATE instead, which is the more bioavailable & usuable form of B9 for the majority of the population…I will never understand. 

But even in our modern-day culture, you need to take responsibility for your OWN health.  Particularly if you have the MTHFR gene mutation, as your body simply can’t turn folic acid into its usable form.

Closing Thoughts

So many women, even in our highly educated country, suffer needlessly through terrible bouts of postpartum depression & many other symptoms, both during & after their pregnancies.  I have a friend who felt so low, & so isolated after giving birth: she contemplated suicide, which to anyone who knows her is completely not in her character. 

It’s very clear to me, though I don’t have children of my own: that women need SUPPORT during & after their pregnancy.  Both nutritionally, & emotionally.  If there are things we can do, or slight changes we can make to help support ourselves & the women in our lives: by all means, let’s do them. 

 

xoxo Noelia

Read Next: Why Methylated B Vitamins are Better than Regular B

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